Thursday, August 29, 2013

To end our stay-in-Utah summer we went to Lagoon amusement park for the day. It was a cloudy, not too hot day. Surprisingly it was also not very crowded. We did all of the roller coasters. The smooth running double loop Colossus was our favorite followed by Spyder, Wicked, Blast Off, the Old White original and finally least favorite the jerky Wild Mouse (above).

Dad was recovering from a bout of food poisoning which only amplified his disdain for circular rides. The kids however loved them.

Second time on Rattle Snake Rapids--we all got drenched (particularly Marie) the first time around.

Sarah took these two photos with my iPhone. Joel and dad are fighting for a dry spot, while Will soaks it all up.

To end the day the three kids played against each other on Whack a Mole. We paid $18 for three rounds knowing that one child would win each time and that we could then combine the three wins to get a big prize. Sarah easily won all three rounds against her brothers and so she got to choose the prize--a big stuffed elephant (with a price tag of $19.99). Heck of a deal.

Sarah off to her first (sophomore) year at Springville High. She chose to take early morning seminary so she would have room for some fun classes (drama and orchestra) to go along with the likes of Chemistry and AP World History.

Joel off to his first (7th) year at Springville Jr. High. He is starting band on the bass trombone played by his uncles Bob, Jake and Tom. He is also running cross country which will certainly keep him in good shape for soccer.

Will off to third grade at Brookside Elementary. Thanks to cousin Alex for the sweet purple shoes. I think Will (with a Nike swoosh on his shoes, socks, pants, shirt and back pack) should be paid by Nike for being a walking advertisement. Nike may also want to endorse him after the hat trick (three) of soccer goals he scored last night in his club soccer game.

Sunday, August 18, 2013

This past week Joel and Will both participated in the Adidas Cup at the huge soccer complex with 35 fields in West Jordan.

Joel's team is starting its third season. The first game was tied 1-1 (goal by Joel), the second game they won 2-1 (with a beautiful assist by Joel), the third game they tied 0-0 and the fourth game, semi final, they lost 3-1.

The 11:30 am semi-final game on Saturday morning was blessed with clouds and a breeze. Much cooler than the three previous game days when both Joel and Will were playing at 4:00 and 5:00 pm in 100 degree weather with only a few small shade trees for relief. Joel is lucky number 13.

Will's team was just organized this summer. After only one month of practices and only one scrimmage they set our to play. They are a U9 team but are playing up this year at the U10 level meaning the most of
the other teams were older and had a year of experience under their
belts. The first game they lost 7-0, the second game they lost 8-1, and
third game they tied 3-3, with two goals and one assist from Will. It
was fun watching the daily improvement of Will's team.

All week long a wild fire was burning in Skulll Valley, two valleys to the west of Salt Lake Valley. Ash clouds filled the air and turned the sun to hazy red.

The ash haze sunset that evening from in front of our home.

Friday afternoon clouds. The soccer fields were just south of the SLC municipal airport so there were plenty of planes coming in for landings and taking off just above us.

After the two games on Friday afternoon we went to Aunt Rachel's to change clothes so that we could go to a delightful wedding reception for Eden Jensen and Jared Colton at the Memorial House in Memorial Grove of City Creek Canyon in Salt Lake City. Eden and Jared are the sixth couple to wed from among the 80 students of the summer 2010 BYU Jerusalem Center. I think that is a record for JC marriages. In addition to being able to see our Jerusalem friends (above) Marie and I knew family members on both sides from previous places (a cousin was my BYU TA, another cousin was in our BYU fall group, a grandfather was Marie's bishop in DC, and two aunts were friends from Marie's singles ward in DC) so we had a fun time visiting, eating and even dancing.

After the Saturday morning game we went to eat (Joel's choice) at Mezza Restaurant on 9th an 9th in SLC. It is one of our favorite places to eat. We all (not always the case) enjoy the pita, hummus, falafel, tabbouli, and fettoush. We then drove to Logan for the second annual family fun run. Organized by uncle Jake (white hat center) in support of Tom (third from left on back row in red) who broke his neck and clavacle in a bike accident three weeks ago. Some ran, others did not, then we all enjoyed dinner. A fun mini reunion with grandma Emmett, all six of her children and many grands and great grands.

July 15-20 Joel and six other scouts, plus four adults (two scout leaders, a father and an EMT) set off on a 71 mile canoe trip down the Green River through Labyrinth Canyon to Mineral Bottom. I had planned to go along, but had to pull out when Sarah's Surgery was scheduled for the Wednesday before the departure date. The first set of photos are how Joel saw the trip and then the later photos (which all included Joel) are Facebook posts by Barrett Raymond the EMT.

Putting in at Green River State park on Tuesday morning after a day of driving and shuttling cars to the pull out point.

One hour down stream one boat capsized while trying to dodge these rocks and avoid the overhanging branches. Lost in the capsizing were two fishing pole, celphone, GPS and camera of one of the leaders.

Thursday night Joel as asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting this Sunday--his first as a Deacon. Brother Kauwe asked to tell about the trip and to include something spiritual. Here is what Joel came up with during our ride to and from Logan on Saturday for an Emmett family gathering. His parents helped with typing and wording and some of the ideas. He did a great job giving the talk and people even laughed at his jokes.

Sacrament Meeting Talk August 18, 2013

Last month
our scout troop spent five days on a canoe trip.Our group included 7 boys and 4 leaders.We used the canoes that were bought with
money from the ward yard sale.We
started at Green River and went 71 miles
through canyons and rock cliffs.It was
a long hard trip and when I first got back I didn’t have much good to say about
canoeing. The day after I got back, I had to write a letter for my extended Emmett
family newsletter and when my dad read what I wrote about the trip, he made me
start over and be more positive.Now
that we’ve been back a while, I realize how fun it was.Today I want to tell you about some of the
things that I learned on the trip.

First of
all, I really like my mom’s cooking.

Second,
sometimes in life you get really lucky and don’t have to carry the port-a-potty
in your canoe.

Third, I
tried fishing for the first time and --Brother Kauwe, I don’t think I’ll ever be as good at it as you.

Fourth, it’s
important to always be watchful even when things seem to be going
smoothly.Just about an hour after we
started the canoe trip, we were going through a little bit faster water and one
of the canoes which was trying to avoid a rock, ran into some trees branches on
the side of the river and capsized.We
weren’t prepared for that and some things in the canoe which weren’t stored
properly at the time sank and were lost.

Fifth, when
someone does capsized or is in trouble, we should be willing to help.Jackson Chambers was a good example of this
on our trip.When the canoe capsized, Jackson jumped out of his
canoe to try and save some of the stuff floating down the river.Unfortunately, he had just cast out his
fishing line and so in the process of helping he ended up with a fish hook in
his leg.He had the right idea though
and so all of the scouts agreed that Jackson
should get his fishing merit badge for catching himself.

Sixth, even
when things are hard, know that there is always something good to look forward
to.One of my favorite things during the
trip was swimming after canoeing the entire day. At our last campsite we found
a rock that we could jump off.Our
leaders wondered where we got the energy to climb and jump but really it was
relaxing to not to be paddling and it’s definitely one of the best memories I
have from the trip.

Seventh,
teamwork is really important and everyone has to do their part.There were two people in each canoe and we
found that if we wanted to go anywhere, we both had to paddle.Everyone on the trip worked hard to make it a
success.Some were cooking specialists,
some were fish hook extracting specialists, others pitched tents and loaded
boats.My specialty was rinsing off the
toilet seat in the river each morning.

Finally, at
one of our nightly devotionals Brother Tull shared the following scripture with
us:

Helaman 5:12

12 And now, my sons, remember, remember
that it is upon the arock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the
Son of God, that ye must build your bfoundation; that when the devil shall send
forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his
hail and his mighty cstorm shall beat upon you, it shall have
no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo,
because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation
whereon if men build they cannot fall.

On our canoe
trip we were surrounded by rocks of every size, shape and color and these rocks
were a great reminder of the role Jesus should play in our lives.If Jesus is our foundation then we will be
vigilant, we will cooperate with each other and work together, we will help
others, we will look for the positive in things, and through our Savior Jesus
Christ we will not only be saved from capsized canoes but from all the other
challenges we face during our life.

I’m grateful
that we were protected during our canoe trip.I’m grateful for good leaders and friends that help me learn and
grow.